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Marcus Davis Discusses Latest Win Over Pete Spratt, Free Agent Status

It may not have produced the highlight reel knockout that some expected when noted strikers Marcus Davis and Pete Spratt fought Friday at Maximum Fighting Championship 30, but Davis will certainly take the unanimous decision victory he was awarded. After losing back-to-back bouts to Nate Diaz and Jeremy Stephens, and being cut by the UFC earlier this year, Davis concedes that adding Ws to his record is more important now than engaging in risky slugfests.

“In this fight in particular, because of the way things have gone for me in the past year, year and-a-half, it’s been really about having to win some fights here,” Davis told FCF. “I had very specific plan for that fight and had to follow it. I couldn’t do what I normally like to do and that’s go out there and let it all hang out, bang it out, but right now I have to get on a winning streak…Pete can be a dangerous guy so I’m happy that I got the win.”

The win was the second in a row for Davis since he signed with the MFC earlier this year, as in April he scored a split decision win over Curtis Demarce to extend his overall record to 18-8.

“Everybody’s saying that I’m a has-been, I’m shot, and all that stuff,” said Davis, who’s last Octagon win came at UFC 113 last May, when he stopped Jonathan Goulet in the second round. “So it’s important that I start building wins again, get ahead, and then when the time’s right I’ll go back to throwing down, throwing punches and taking punches.”

While the Davis, Spratt fight on Friday was competitive, “The Irish Hand Grenade” had no doubts that he had won the fight as he awaited the judge’s decision.

“I think the only punch he actually hit me with the whole fight was the jab,” said Davis while discussing the bout, which was scored 29-28, 30-27, 29-28, in his favor. “He threw a couple head kicks but nothing really landed; he caught me with a body kick and maybe two leg kicks? That’s it. I think maybe some knees to leg and body… I landed a way higher percentage of punches and I got the takedowns, which probably sealed it for me.”

One of the interesting back stories to Friday’s fight was that Davis agreed to fight Spratt at welterweight, after competing recently at 155lbs. Although Davis didn’t appear to be bothered by the extra weight during the fight, the veteran says he has no plans on returning to 170lbs. permanently.

“I was preparing to fight Richie Whitson at lightweight,” noted the 37 year-old Davis, who submitted Spratt in their initial meeting at UFC 69, in April, 2007. “So when they called three weeks out and said Richie had broken his foot, it was the fight they were offering, it was Pete Spratt. I didn’t really want that; Pete was bigger, Pete was physically stronger than me, and the only thing that stopped me from being overpowered in the clinch was my footwork… That and my head control, my head was always placed to the side of his head, which was a huge gap that I saw in his last fight.”

Now having won back-to-backs fights and concluded his current contract with the MFC, it will be interesting to see what opportunities come Davis’s way as he enters free agency.

“I guess my manager has talked to them,” said Davis when asked if he’s had any discussions with the UFC about a possible return. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on; he handles all that stuff. Fighters can’t manage themselves; they should never do that, so my manager is going to take care of that.”

“As far as what I think, if I do sign with the MFC again, I’d like it to have a title shot in there if I keep winning fights,” Davis added. “I don’t see why not. Now you have Drew Fickett, who was number one, just lost a fight. That guy (Brian Cobb) who beat him probably needs an opponent and why not me?”

posted by FCF Staff @ 5:35 pm

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